The Strangers (2008)

A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.

Director:

Bryan Bertino

Writer:

Bryan Bertino

Stars:

Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward

1 win & 15 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alex Fisher	...	Mormon Boy #1
Peter Clayton-Luce	...	Mormon Boy #2
Scott Speedman	...	James Hoyt
Liv Tyler	...	Kristen McKay
Gemma Ward	...	Dollface
Kip Weeks	...	Man in Mask
Laura Margolis	...	Pin-Up Girl
Glenn Howerton	...	Mike

Storyline

After returning from a wedding reception, a couple staying in an isolated vacation house receive a knock on the door in the mid-hours of the night. What ensues is a violent invasion by three strangers, their faces hidden behind masks. The couple find themselves in a violent struggle, in which they go beyond what either of them thought capable in order to survive.

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Plot Keywords:

fear | masked intruder | cabin in the woods | masked villain | smoke alarm | 

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Taglines:

Lock the door. Pretend you're safe.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence/terror and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

James's car has North Dakota license plates.

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Goofs

When Kristen falls and hurts her ankle in the leaves, she starts to climb and crawl. The black tie covering her wound is not on her hand. In the next shot, the tie is back on her hand.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: What you are about to see is inspired by true events. According to the FBI, there are an estimated 1.4 million violent crimes in America each year. On the night of February 11, 2005, Kristen McKay and James Hoyt left a friend's wedding reception and returned to the Hoyt family's summer home. The brutal events that took place there are still not entirely known.

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Alternate Versions

The unrated version is over two minutes longer than the theatrical version which includes one additional scene of Kristen, after being stabbed and left for dead, is crawling on the floor of the house to reach Mike's ringing cell phone, only to have it ring off before she can answer it. Then the Man in the Mask appears again, takes the phone away from her, and walks out the front door with it, leaving Kristen dying on the floor.

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Connections

References Carrie (1976)

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Soundtracks

Sprout and The Bean
Written by Joanna Newsom
Performed by Joanna Newsom
Courtesy of Drag City Records
By Arrangement with Bank Robber Music

User Reviews

Nihilism A la Carte

I seem to be approaching nihilist films on a streak, viewing "The Virgin Spring" recently. The Strangers has a lot of that "philosophy" crammed in. I read comments claiming the film doesn't connect us to the characters, and is crammed of every cliché to be. Oh the irony. When we see horror films, being attached to characters is a repeated figure, a screenwriter's must. Bertino does good in creating the night horror without any development, no overbearing crudeness, playing suspense and psychological terror like piano keys.

This is the approach: the strangers attack because their victims "are at home", and they do not respond to pleas, long reasonings or emotions. It's nihilism pure: they kill because they find control and domination powerful, and they don't care about consequences, moral or of any other kind.

In that optic, "The Strangers" is truly scary. We are not dealing with supernatural beings, but human beings, who chose the path of downright evil and can't be convinced of not doing it. People like that may be lurking out there, and that scares most of us viewers.

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Faces

Filming Locations:

Florence, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,997,985, 1 June 2008

Gross USA:

$52,597,610

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$82,410,456

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rogue Pictures, Intrepid Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min 88 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1